Hello! I am currently a mechanical patent examiner at the USPTO, with 10 years experience (not yet a primary, as I put off promotion for a while). However, I did pass the Cert Exam, so I can petition for a registration number if I were to leave.

I am also currently studying French again, and was previously an intermediate speaker. So I am closing in on fluency. I also simply love French culture, and have some friends there, and was wondering if anyone reading this can give me some ideas as to whether or not it is possible or practical, to find work in the US which would allow me to live and work at least part of the year, in France.

For example, maybe a US firm which has a lot of French clients, and needs someone to act as a liaison between the two countries? Or someone to represent their US interests, in France?

I would start by checking for in-house positions rather than firms, as they might be more ameniable to the split geography. I would expect that these positions might prove few and far between, but hey you never know!

Why not try getting an in-house position in Europe with a French (or French -speaking Swiss or Belgium) company? If it has a big enough IP department, they might welcome someone who is willing to learn EPO practice, and help out with the US prosecution, too. May not be able to to the split time in US/FR, at first, but might be possible after you have been with them awhile. As long as the company is willing to hire you, you don't need to have an EPO registration (but the credential is important for a long term career. But beware, the EPO exam is quite difficult-- a 4-part open book affair with a very low pass rate). The EPO journal carries some want ads, and sometimes there are positions posted in the British patent attorneys journal at cipa.org.

You might also want to try to contact a European head hunter to get a read on this. Good luck!